Haunted philanthropy

When Bruce Calhoun, a biology teacher at Dodgeville High School, returned from a 1988 trip to Costa Rica, he was determined to help stem the devastation of that region’s rainforests. “What I saw was heartbreaking. The rainforest was so beautiful and full of life, and the cattle pastures that were encroaching were ugly and subject to severe erosion during the rainy season.”

The next year, Calhoun founded Save the Rainforest Inc., a nonprofit that promotes purposeful travel for students to Central America. Students hike trails to learn the natural history of the region, plant trees and participate in research projects.

Save the Rainforest has organized over 400 trips to the tropics since then, and Calhoun quit teaching to devote himself to the nonprofit full time. He has organized and served as the primary guide for eight ecology courses in central Mexico, including a memorable trip where he and students released newly hatched sea turtles into the ocean. The aim is to fund forest conservation projects while also introducing young people to careers in environmental sciences.Now he’s harnessing the power of theater by writing, directing and producing a play

The Donation, which debuts Oct. 27-29 at the Verona Area Performing Arts Center. The play serves as a fundraiser for Save The Rainforest and Green Forest, a Panama-based nonprofit that works to protect jaguar habitats.

Calhoun plays the leading role of gruff Theobald Rhinelander, who must decide how to donate his $50 million fortune after his grandson and only heir dies. To help him decide, Rhinelander invites representatives from three charities to his grim (possibly haunted) mansion in Wisconsin’s north woods to pitch why they should receive the money. This boiling cauldron of mischief and desire has the audience guessing who will receive the wealth, if anyone.

“By entertaining people, it’s easier to inform them,” Calhoun says. “It’s light-hearted. The actors never give a pedantic presentation of their charity projects. We are talking about environmentalism, cancer research and world hunger,” Calhoun says. “These are all things people in Madison are concerned about.”

Making her Madison debut in the production is Amy Zwicker from Monroe. Zwicker plays Dr. Constance Carealot, a doctor from the Society to Eliminate Cancer. “She is just marvelous in the role of the acid-tongue representative,” Calhoun says. Other roles are played by Marisa Kahler, Michael White and Meaghan Heives.

It’s no coincidence the production debuts the weekend before Halloween. Howling wolves, spiders and a ghost in the attic are all a part of the action. Calhoun draws from his personal experiences throughout the play, such as his interactions with wolves when he attended college in Alaska.

To encourage the ghouls to attend, costumed audience members at the 7:30 p.m. show on Oct. 29 will be eligible to win a contest. Save the Rainforest will award the first-place winner a six-day trip to Panama valued at approximately $1,800.